Improvement in heel-gages for boots and shoes



A; OREBAUGH.

Heel-Gages for Bootsvand Shoes.

NOQIZ Patented April7,1874.

UNITED STATESA PATENT FFICE.

ALFRED OREBAUGH, OF MARATHON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN HEEL-GAGES FOR BOOTS AND SHOES` Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,512, dated April 7', 1874; application filed November 17, 1873.

To all whomtt may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED OREEAUGE, of Marathon, Clermont county, Ohio, have invented a newand useful Heel-Gage for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a device which enables the shoemaker to accurately mark out the heel as aV guide for the trimming or skiving of the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a gage embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a partiallysectionized side view of said gage, and Fig. 3 a partiallysectionized front view. Fig. 4 shows my heelplate detached.

My gage-bar A has hinged to its rear end a stem, B, of spring-clasp C, whose ofice is to embrace the counter of the boot or shoe, and, by so doing, to centerthe bar end of the gage. l) is my heel-plate,whose oriiices cl and curved slots d serve as guides or patterns to an awl or pencil, wherewith the operator marks oftl the desired form, shape, and position of heel preparatory to trimming the same to shape. This heel-plate is secured,by a sleeve, E, to any desired position upon t-hebar A, and is held to such position by means of set-screw F. Secured by sleeve G to the bar A, near its front end, is my toe piece or plate H,whose forward projection H has a lip, h, vthat engages over the toe of the sole, and whose lateral projections I are marked numerically, as shown, or otherwise marked, as a guide to the operator in adjusting the front end of the gage to an accurately central position upon the shoe, the operator, for this purpose, shifting the shoe until the remote edges of the sole are brought opposite corresponding marks or numbers on the two sides. The gage-bar may be marked with a scale at a, to enable the operator to set the toe-plate for the particular size of shoe. J is a screw, by means of which the toe-plate may be iixed to any specific adjustment.

The gage is operated in the following manner: The toe-plate having been adjusted to the size of the shoe, and the rough heel-taps having been nailed to the welt, the gage is so r applied as for the clasp O to nolose the counter of the shoe or boot, and the instrument slipped back until the lip h of the toe-plate H I touches the sole. The front end of the gage is then adj usted laterally until corresponding marks on I are found at each edge of the sole. The gage being now'central, the operator has only to scribe or mark oft' on the bottom of the heel the proper shape, size, and position of the heel, being guided thereto by the slots d and orifices el, and the work of the gage is accomplished.

The adjusting devices allow the location of the heels of any pair of boots or shoes to be located to the right andn left, respectively, ot' the center, to suit the wearer, if necessary, or more or less forward, with respect to the foot.

A comparatively unskilled operator can, by the use of this instrument, do better work, and in less time, than a skilled operator can without its use.

I have described the device as successfully used by me, but reserve the right to vary the construction in non-essential particulars. For example, the stem B may be rigidly attached to the bar A, and the clasp C may be adjustable up or down upon said stem. The toe-plate may be adjustable laterally upon its sleeve, or may be replaced by a clasp similar to the clasp O, so as to be self-centering. That portion of the bar A near the heel-plate D may be bent upwardly, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, so as to allow the operator to have more ready access to the slots d.

The heel-plate of my gage, having been once ALFRED OEEBAUGH.

Attest T. D. HAETMAN, S. E. HARTMAN. 

